Archive for category NHL Entry Draft
Mats Zuccarello Aasen - Remember This Name
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Opinion, NHL Rumors on March 21st, 2010
March 21st: Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: MZA’s agent is eyeing the Red Wings. Matheson thinks the Wings are interested, but would sign him to a 2-way deal. If he didn’t make the team, or like playing in the AHL for $100,000 or so, he would head back to Sweden.
March 19th: Ansar Khan of MLive: Mats Zuccarello-Aasen could be on the Detroit Red Wings radar as a potential free agent acquisition. MZA’s agent is saying “Detroit is the ‘hottest choice’”, with Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas as other suitors. Mats will look at signing with a team this more offensive minded as it suits his playing style more than a defensive system.
March 7th: There’s a lot of buzz about diminutive Norwegian winger Mats Zuccarello Aasen, and it’s likely he’s headed to the NHL next season. But the question is whether he can be successful at his size — 5-foot-7 and 161 pounds.
One Swedish hockey writer had this to say (via Aftenposten), “Look at stars like Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane, to name a few. New rule interpretations and attitudes in the NHL are a benefit to players like them and Mats.”
He caught a lot of eyes at the Olympics, including that of Red Wings VP Steve Yzerman. He told Swedish TV stations (via Aftenposten), “I can not remember his name, but No. 48 in Norway has been very good in the Olympics.”
Yup, that’s Aasen, so now there’s speculation that the Red Wings might be interested in the winger. We already knew several NHL teams were eying the 22-year-old, including the Chicago Blackhawks.
While searching out stats on the diminutive left winger for this article, I found that Hockey DB.com had stats as usual (great site for stats), and they have him listed at 5′ 7″ and 154 pounds. Most NHL defencemen could curl about that much weight, but the “New NHL” does offer some opportunity for the smaller, highly skilled players.
Nicknamed “The Norwegian Hobbitt Wizard”, he has a great set of hands and creativity that is always required for a small player to gain as much notoriety has he already has.
Here’s a little sample of his play, courtesy of Youtube.com.
His stats for Modo are impressive too, considering the amount of games played he’s better than a point per game average.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Aasen, along with a variety of other European and U.S. College free agents as the season continues. This is where an NHL team, like the Detroit Red Wings, can really set them selves apart with quality scouting.
Players that can contribute in the NHL, without using draft picks to acquire them, are at a premium for teams trying to re-build in todays salary capped NHL.
Look for a tab in our “Features” section in the near future for more articles like this one, as we compile a list of the best eligible players outside of the NHL, and see where they might fit in in the future.
Around the Boards: Kovalchuk, Briere and Van Riemsdyk, Penguin’s Injuries, Weight out, Giggy to Wings?
Posted by Mark in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Injuries, NHL News on November 11th, 2009
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Thrashers fans and Fantasy owners of Ilya Kovalchuk have a smile on their face this morning, as Kovalchuk took part in yesterday’s practice. He was on a line with Antropov and Afinogenov. Kovalchuk is 95% a go for Thursday. He’s been out 3 weeks so far, original timetable was 4-6 weeks.
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Both Daniel Briere and James Van Riemsdyk could be back in the lineup for Thursday’s Ottawa match-up. Ryan Parent and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen should also be back soon.
- To go along with the Ducks JS Giguere to the Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch thinks the Red Wings might have an interest in Giguere as they are not thrilled with the tandem of Osgood and Howard so far.
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The injuries keep mounting up for the Penguins, as Brooks Orpik appears to be the latest Penguin injured. Orpik left last night’s game and joining Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy Max Talbot on the sidelines.
- Arthur Staple of the Newsday: Doug Weight’s upper-body-injury that he sustained on Friday will keep him out the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Kyle Okposo has been diagnosed with the H1N1 swine flu.
- Mark Everson of the NY Post: Some of the New Jersey Devils forwards aren’t putting up the numbers they did in past season, and the blame may be on Jacques Lemaire’s systems. Well no #*$%, Lemaire’s ‘bore-the-crap-out-of-you’ systems will negate the skills out of anyone, see ‘Marion Gaborik’ and what he’ll do this year (if healthy).
- Corey Masisak of the Washington Times: Brendan Morrison’s solid play so far this season may earn him a contract extension with the Capitals.
- Jesse Rogers of ESPN: Blackhawks center David Bolland will be out 3 to 4 months following surgery on a herniated disc. This probably means that Patrick Sharp and/or Kris Versteeg trade rumors may slow down.
- From CSN Washington: Mikael Nylander has cleared waivers, and reportedly has deals in the KHL, and is ready to move on … But “We’re still exploring our options,” McPhee said. “I’d rather not elaborate right now. It is probably a better opportunity to talk about it tomorrow. I’d like to see how it goes today and then maybe we can discuss it tomorrow.”
- Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: Coyotes GM Don Maloney plans on scouting Chris Chelios on Friday as the AHL Chicgo Wolves play San Antonio …. Peter Forsberg might decide by the end of the week if/where he’ll be playing
Colorado Avalanche Red Hot
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News on October 16th, 2009
The Colorado Avalanche are off to a red hot start to the season, a start that most didn’t see coming. Rookie Ryan O’Reilly, drafted 33rd overall in the draft this summer, scored his first NHL goal to give the Avs the win over the Montreal Canadiens, spoiling the Habs home opener before a crowd of 21, 273 at the Bell Center in Montreal. This brought their record to an impressive 5-1-1 with three consecutive wins.
The Avalanche have a good core of young talent including rookies Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene as well as young star Paul Stastney. The veteran’s like Darcy Tucker and captain Adam Foote are providing solid leadership and goaltender Craig Anderson seems to have found his comfort zone in Colorado.
The question is weather they can sustain this caliber of play for the long term, and the laws of averages are certainly against them, but after a dismal season last year new coach Joe Sacco has this team believing in themselves and each other. This will be an interesting story to watch as it develops.
Bertuzzi to the Red Wings? Marleau loses Captaincy
Posted by Mark in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors, NHL Videos on August 18th, 2009
According to MLive.com, the Detroit Red Wings are close to signing free agent winger Todd Bertuzzi. The deal is reportedly worth $1.5 million for 1 year. This would be Bertuzzi’s second stint with the Wings; playing 8 regular season games in 2006-07 after a trade from Florida. The 34 year old winger recorded 44 points in 66 games last season for Calgary. Detroit is looking to replace some offense after losing Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Kopecky, and Jiri Hudler.
Patrick Marleau, who has been mentioned in trade rumors for the last couple years, has had his captaincy removed. Dan Boyle might be a candidate to take over as the captain.
Avalanche sign Top Pick Duchene
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News on July 16th, 2009
The 3rd overall pick in the recent NHL entry draft has been signed in Colorado. Matt Duchene’s entry level contract calls for him to make $900,000 in salary in each of the three seasons. The Avalanche cap hit will be $3.2 million a season when bonus figures are included.
After much speculation leading up to the draft that Duchene could be a potential 1st overall pick for the Islanders, he was selected by the Avalanche, his favorite team growing up. It’s too bad he won’t get to play with boyhood idol Joe Sakic, but it’s safe to say Sakic will be involved with the Avs in the near future in some capacity.
This is a good start for a rebuilding franchise. (source-Denver Post)
Burke adds toughness to Leafs
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News on June 27th, 2009
Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke talks about the draft selections from this years draft, the short and long-term potential of the selections, and how the team will be active in the free agent market come July 1st. (source:The Canadian Press/TSN)
As much as I admire Brian Burke, one would think after all the talk about moving up to get Tavares (a claim that was really hard to see coming to fruition for a multitude of reasons) and the subsequent failure to do so, he’d spend more time talking about what he did accomplish at the NHL entry draft. That said, rather than getting the Leafs faithfull’s hopes up with bold predictions, why not just surprise them with a signing or two come July 1st?
Brian is obviously an intelligent individual but you have to start to wonder if he’s aware that the people of Toronto aren’t the people of Anaheim…He’ll get a couple free passes in the beginning but all this bravado is being kept track of and bold predictions can come back to haunt you in Leafland.
Does anyone remember Paul Maurice and the prediction that the Leafs would compete for the Stanley Cup in 2007, only to miss the playoffs altogether? The media was hard on him for that bold prediction and in the end, I’m sure he was wishing he just used a typical hockey cliche about giving it their best every night.
The point is, the fans in Toronto are starved for a team to cheer for and if Burke is going to get their hopes up, for his sake I hope he can come through.
Here we go…
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 26th, 2009
It’s the NHL entry draft tonight and we’re going to be updating as often as possible all day. There’s a lot of potential for trades surrounding high profile free agents from all over the League and draft maneuvering talk as teams jockey for position in what is expected to be a very exciting draft.
Amazingly, it’s not even 100% clear who will be drafted 1st overall at this point and you could make a compelling case for any of the top 3 prospects, including Tavares, Hedman, and Duchene.
At the 4 and 5 spots, you have Atlanta and the Kings who are both strong possible trading partners for teams to move up in the draft. The kings have been linked in trade rumors with almost every high priced potential free agent out there and have the cap space to sign one. Some veteran leadership would be a huge asset on the young, talented Kings team and the 5th pick is a valuable trade tool to help facilitate that.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on San Jose today as well. The Sharks are coming off another playoff disappointment, after another amazing regular season, and the feeling is there will be a change of leadership this year if for no other reason than to be able to say they made changes. We’ll see.
Also keeping a close eye on;
- The Dany Heatley situation in Ottawa,
- The Jay Bo suspected trade to the west coast, or Philly…
- The Vincent Lecavalier possible move, maybe to the Habs,
- the Leafs fielding offers for Tomas Kaberle-Burke has stated he wants to move up in the draft,
- Will Hossa sign with the Wings or test the market?
More updates as the news breaks will follow below as they occur…(most recent at the top of the list)
- Check out MyNHLDraft.com for a full list of the Draft as it Happens.
- Update:The Minnesota Wild trade 12th pick to the New York Islanders. Islanders select Calvin de Haan.
- Update:The Nashville Predators select Ryan Ellis 11th overall.
- Update:The Edmonton Oilers select Magnus Paajarvi-svensson. 10th overall.
- Update:The Ottawa Senators select Jared Cowen 9th overall.
- Update:The Dallas Stars select Scott Glennie 8th overall.
- Update:The Toronto Maple Leafs select Nazem Kadri 7th overall.
- Update:The Pheonix Coyotes select Oliver Ekmanlarsson 6th overall.
- Update:The Los Angeles Kings select Brayden Schenn 5th overall.
- Update:The Atlanta Thrashers select Evander Kane 4th overall.
- Update:The Colorado Avalanche select Matt Duchene 3rd overall.
- Update:The Tampa Bay Lightning select Victor Hedman 2nd overall.
- Update:The New York Islanders select John Tavares 1st overall.
- Update:Pronger to Flyers. Details in link.(TSN)
- Update:The Vancouver Sun reports Roberto Luongo is close to signing a long-term contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.
- Update:A new rumor surrounding Kaberle. Talk is Tomas Kaberle to Dallas for Matt Niskanen and 8th overall.(ESPN)
- Update:Masterton winner Steve Sullivan will have to wait until after the draft to talk about a contract with the Predators.(Tennessean)
- Update: Bryan Murray is having a tough time getting anything close to market value for sniper Dany Heatly. You gotta feel for Murray in this situation.
- Update: sources say Ryan Clowe possibly to the Leafs for the 7th pick overall rejected by burke.
- Update: Bob Mckenzie at TSN reports sources indicate the Boston Bruins are offering Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Tomas Kaberle and the leafs 7th overall pick.
Todays Snapshots
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 25th, 2009
Here’s a quick look at some of today’s news stories and rumors from around the NHL…
- sources say the Toronto Maple Leafs have recieved some interest from several teams in veteran defenceman Tomas Kaberle.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports Panthers GM Randy Sexton said late Thursday afternoon that 4 teams are still in the hunt for Jay bo…
- Mike Heika of the Dallas News says the Stars are looking for skill in the up-coming draft.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch discusses the chances the Blue Jackets are going to draft a defenceman in the up-coming draft.
Tavares or Hedman 1st Overall?
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News on June 25th, 2009
TSN Staff provide this interesting look at past 1st and 2nd overall picks and how they panned out. Remember Alexander Daige vs Chris pronger in 1993? We all know how that turned out but can the same comparisons be made for Tavares and Hedman this year?
Burke interested in Zack Kassian.
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News on June 23rd, 2009
Damien Cox of The Toronto Star looks at comments made by Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke regarding tough-guy Zack Kassian, who is available in the up-coming NHL entry draft taking place June 26-27 2009… “He’s big, tough, skilled, hostile and belligerent. Naw, I don’t like him,” said Burke with tongue firmly tucked in cheek. “Why would I want a player like that?”…
Brian Burke, the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has stated previously that if he can’t trade up to the top picks in the draft he’s going to trade down. Zack Kassian is a tough player with skill too but not enough skill to be selected 7th overall. He’s projected to go 13th -16th overall (projected to go 12th in this mock draft) and would be on Burke’s wish list if he was to trade down to that range, with another pick for compensation of course.
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